Another Great Read
It's
not very often I have feelings of loss or nothing to look forward to
after finishing a book, but my latest read had me totally gutted when I
turned the last page and read, the end. El Sid by Chris Haslam, is the
last book he wrote following the Alligator Strip and his first book,
Twelve Step Fandango.
Chris Haslam works as a journalist in London and gained food for the mind through various experiences and some diverse jobs from around the world, including a ski guide and firearms instructor. You get a sense of his research skills when reading his books and feel as though he has been to the places he describes so vividly.
We start in present day, meeting Sidney Starman ?El Sid' at the penultimate episode in his life. He wants to spend his last time on this planet looking for gold and to find out what happened to a lost love. He entices the help of a couple of troubled likely lads who are more than likely to scupper everything they tried to do to reach the goal.
Chris Haslam works as a journalist in London and gained food for the mind through various experiences and some diverse jobs from around the world, including a ski guide and firearms instructor. You get a sense of his research skills when reading his books and feel as though he has been to the places he describes so vividly.
We start in present day, meeting Sidney Starman ?El Sid' at the penultimate episode in his life. He wants to spend his last time on this planet looking for gold and to find out what happened to a lost love. He entices the help of a couple of troubled likely lads who are more than likely to scupper everything they tried to do to reach the goal.
EL SID
This is a journey into the past, unravelling the truth by flitting
back to 1937. When El Sid was a soldier with the foreign brigades in the
Spanish civil war and was embarking on an unauthorised covert
operation, led by a hard-ass American, named Cobb and a dodgy German
killer called Kreuz. They travel across enemy lines to stop the
execution of a Gypsy thief, who knows the whereabouts of a hundred boxes
of stolen Spanish gold, a part shipment of a larger hoard on its way to
Russia, naively for safe keeping.The progression of their road trip and a combination of bad luck and listening to El Sid’s stories force Sid’s companions, Lenny and Nicholas, to become more and more sceptical along the way whilst facing their own inner demons and questioning their own worth. The journey starts across the bay of Biscay and Santander, Alhambra, Palencia and eventually on to their destination of Montalban, Teruel province in Aragón.
Numerous visits to Spain made sure the historical side is well researched and chilling to think of a world that existed like that, not so long ago and how cheap life was then.
As usual in Chris Haslam’s books, like twelve step fandango and the Alligator strip. The ending starts to collect momentum and finishes with several directional choices, with the author choosing a less than obvious route.
Two ex-cons are promised a share in a hoard of stolen Spanish Gold, taken in the Spanish civil war. The brains behind the caper is Spanish Civil war veteran, Sidney Starman. Now on the last leg of his life, he wants to return to his past, pulled by the curiosity of a lost Love and the need to know, is the gold still there.
Reasons why I liked this book so much
El Sid
First the characters, you can look at an older person and think that
what you see is what you get, in regards to their lives, judging them
by how they are and look now and not really putting any thought into how
they were. Even at my age, my daughter is astonished when I know the
words to the latest hit song. She not realising it is a remix from my
youth.The author gives us chapters in present day, and then contrasts it with events that took place in 1937, the two subordinate characters, Lenny and Nick, treat old Stanley like a doddering old fool. Yet when we read what he was up to in the war, it’s amusing and shocking. We share the secretes that Sidney has been hiding and get a feel for what he is capable of, it also shows in contrast how much these ex-cons are loses. I have some more reasons, but I think they could spoil it for those that may read the book.
Towards the end you realise just how powerful and heart-breaking Sidney’s journey is. Remembering what had happened in the past and painfully thinking what if, as you shift uneasy on your seat, wondering where this is going.
Image ShearArt
Twelve Step Fandango
Alligator Strip
Twelve Step Fandango introduces us to Martin Brock, a likable, yet
amoral anti-hero and drug dealer living up a mountain in a forgotten
pueblo with a wild and bitter, German Chica, whose unquenchable habit
and deceit lands them on the wrong side of some scary French gangsters.
This is a cringing, kick ass ride at break neck speeds.
Once I read it I had to get his next book Alligator Strip, about the same character, but this time starting in Marrakesh Morocco, the place he fled to at the end Of Twelve Step Fandango. He eventually ends up in Florida, dodging bullets, ex-husbands, tornadoes, and falling in love with a hot pole dancer, whilst working a scam with a gold coin dealer. Superb!
Once I read it I had to get his next book Alligator Strip, about the same character, but this time starting in Marrakesh Morocco, the place he fled to at the end Of Twelve Step Fandango. He eventually ends up in Florida, dodging bullets, ex-husbands, tornadoes, and falling in love with a hot pole dancer, whilst working a scam with a gold coin dealer. Superb!
MEET THE AUTHOR
No comments:
Post a Comment